Masha and the Bear lands raft of Italian licensees

London-headquartered agency Ink Global has secured a string of new Italian licensing deals for Russian animated preschool series Masha and the Bear.
New licensees joining the Masha roster include Accademia (back-to-school, gift items), Clementoni (toys), Dolfin (confectionery), Grabo (balloons), IN.TE.SUD. (apparel), Jaxo Tirabasso (accessories), Lisciani (puzzles and toys), Modecor (cake decorations), Multiprint (play prints), World Cart (tissues) and Sicem (apparel).

The 26 x seven-minute series, produced by Russian animation studio Animaccord, brings the popular Russian folklore tale of an active young girl and her reluctant playmate to life. Distributed to Italian broadcast and home entertainment channels by Dall’Angelo Pictures, Masha and the Bear has placement on RAI YoYo and Dea Junior. Each channel airs roughly 15 episodes daily, with Rai YoYo averaging more than 500,000 viewers per day for the show.
Since its 2009 debut, Masha quickly became one of the most popular shows in Russia and now airs in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Egmont Publishing recently expanded its Masha publishing program (storybooks, coloring books and a Masha and the Bear magazine) across Europe, and  Simba Dickie Group (master toy licensee for Europe) is working on launching Masha toys early this year.